The Transition
by Megarra Chrysanthemum
Summary: AU, back to our intrepid travelers after their return from the Founding, what happens? Does life remain the same? And what the hell is Harry doing now? Will the Wizarding World survive? SEQUEL TO BEFORE OUR TIME
1. Prattle, Prattle, Prattle

** AN: Ah, the new story. So the tales and troubles begin again. It will be fantastic. Just continue reading. You'll see. **

** Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.   
**

**Oh, how this Narrator is terrified of passing the continuing tales of the slightly off his rocker Minister of Magic and his very brave, yet lucky friends onto you. The on-going tale of how the Wizarding World reacted to their Minister returning without a word as to where he had been. Not even a simple 'Oh, just made a mistake in a time turner mixing and went a couple of months into the future, nothing to worry about.' In fact, one could say that the community was more worried by the silence. **

Harry tossed the Daily Prophet down onto the table, irked at the headline. Muttering to himself, "'23 days without a word as to where the Minister Went'. Well, it's none of your damned business." Harry stretched his neck muscles, trying to avoid tension. The tension had been growing since he had gotten back, since the others decided his company was not company worthy of keeping. Okay, so he might be being a bit harsh. Hermione had needed to return to her studies. And sure, when she wasn't studying, she should be spending time with her boyfriend. That didn't excuse Luna. Hell, or even his recently returned best friend Ron.

Though, according to the Bloody Daily Prophet, Ron had been seen with both his family and one Hermione Granger. Yet, whenever he called on Hermione, she wasn't in to receive him. His own girlfriend was refusing to speak to him. She had buried herself into her work at the Department of Mysteries alongside the newly hired Ron Weasley.

He supposed he only had himself to blame. His mind turned to what happened as soon as they had arrived back home.

"_The Founding?" Ron said, incredouslessness present in his tone. Hermione, Draco, and Luna nodded in unison as Harry just gazed at his returned friend. Harry wouldn't let the others know this, but he had never believed that Ron would return to him. Hermione had told him to be patient, saying that 'Ronald only needed time to think things through.' Suppose that Hermione was right on that one, but he was unsure of why Ron returned and if it was really for me. _

"_But we shouldn't say anything to anyone else." Harry spoke, the command present in his voice. He would order them to tell no one else if he had to. He didn't need the Wizarding World getting their hands on the potion and going back that far in the past. It was already a very dangerous idea to time travel. Going that far in the past could have unforeseen effects on the future. Just look at what his argument with Draco had done to centuries of wizarding thought. Maybe the pureblood vs muggleblood battles could have been avoided. _

"_But-" "Harry!" "Be reasonable!" "What about the others!?" Four voices clamored at him, demanding that he not hold them to it. _

"_No! Nothing will be said! That is that!" Harry took the parchment with the potion on it in the lab, holding it over the small fire that had obviously been burning to keep Ron warm. _

"_Harry!" Hermione protested reaching out to stop Harry, but not being able to prevent him from burning it. _

"_No, it's to dangerous, Minnie. We can't-" Harry stopped talking as he was slapped across the cheek by Luna, who was glaring at him. _

"_Grow up, Harry. Stop acting the fool." Luna walked out, the others trailing after her without looking back. _

Harry hadn't been into the office in 23 days, sending messages via magic. He signed forms and paperwork by having Dobby bring them to him. He knew that some people were trying to get in touch with him because according to Dobby, Professor McGonagall, Arthur Weasley, Tonks, and Remus Lupin had come by at various points in time and pounded on his door. Since he had silenced his study and the kitchen, he didn't hear them. Harry was more than fairly certain that he looked like hell, but that is about what he felt.

He didn't know how to go on. Dumbledore had warned him that being a bumbling fool had its disadvantages as well. He had had a choice – constant fear or anger at the idiot. Guess he was an idiot for choosing the anger at the idiot.

Fingering the silver time turner on his desk, Harry contemplated a small vacation. He could take a hop to the Absurdly Located in the General Vicinity of the Northern Arctic School of Hocus Pocus. They always liked it when he popped in for a visit. But then again, maybe they wouldn't be this time. They might be upset at his silence over where he went. Might think him the bumbling fool. Might think that he was trying to hide something.

He didn't know what he was going to do. He honestly had no clue for once. The bumbling idiot act was supposed to last. He was supposed to remain happy in his role. But, maybe that was what Dumbledore had meant when he said he was able to be himself at Hogwarts. Maybe, the Ministry wasn't where he was meant to be at. Harry didn't need to work to be able to live. Grimmauld Place was his own, given to him by Sirius. With his inheritance from his parents, he had enough money to feed himself for forever.

Somehow, he thought, Luna wouldn't return to him if he lived the life of a hermit. Besides, he needed something to keep busy. Maybe research was a route he could go. Certainly couldn't do any harm?

Well, until he experimented and blew something up. Then, maybe things would be harmed. Probably just himself. Harry found himself finding the notion rather appealing. Even if Luna didn't come back to him, he would be having fun. He could find something helpful to the wizarding and muggle worlds alike. He wouldn't have to put up with ratty politicians and whiny constituants. Sure, he would always have to be in the public eye, but that hardly mattered to him anymore. He had gotten accustomed to it. Besides, he would always have his trusty time turner – if slightly modified time turner – to take extended vacations if he deemed it necessary. Escapes from the reality of being Harry Potter, saviour of the Ridiculously Idiotic Wizarding Community and be Harry Potter, Free Man.

Now, the question became how to announce that he was resigning from the Ministry. Should he write a letter? No, that wouldn't work to well. People could claim it was a forgery. They could say he was forced to write it. He could start mass panic that way. Why start mass panic? Panic was no fun and often caused headaches.

Rifling through the various letters and papers on his desk, Harry thought about the dilemna. Almost as though Fate was shouting at him 'Golden Opportunity', Harry spied an invitation to the 5th Annual Continued Cooperation with Wizarding and Muggle Relations Ball. A prime opportunity for the Minister to resign. In fact, it was the best opportunity. Harry smiled, gleefully rubbing his hands together as he started work on what he would say. After all, the Ball was the very next day.

**Now, this Narrator knows that you don't want to leave Harry all by himself as he prepares to wreak mayhem yet again on the Wizarding World. However, it is important that we catch up with the three other travelers and their recent addition. One must know all the facts before walking into the Lion's Den, or rather the Ball. After all, you certainly want to understand everything that happens that rather fateful night, don't you?**

Hermione threw her pen down, horribly frustrated. She had gotten no work done on her dissertation, despite all the help that Draco, Ron and Luna had given her. She wanted her thoughts to not keep going to her overbearing, arrogant ex-friend Harry Potter. The nerve of the man to order them around like that! The power of being Godric Gryffindor must have gone to his head! He was so confident that they would just do what he said. Now, yes, they hadn't told anyone but it wasn't because of his order. It would be stupid to risk people trying the potion themselves. Paradoxical situations would be happening all the time. They didn't have the resources to stop meddlesome people from changing history for the worst.

"'Mione?" The man sitting on her couch said cautiously. Hermione blinked, having forgotten that she had Draco over. Well, he was almost always over, where he tended to do his work on her couch. They tended to just work in silence together, which was fun and rather fantastic. She went over to him curling up against him.

"I can't concentrate." She whispered, looking at his blank pieces of parchment, "And apparently, neither can you." Draco grinned kissing her briefly. His smile faded, looking at the work,

"All I can think about is Harry. I mean, I'm pissed at him. Royally pissed off about his 'order'. But I can't help thinking that we are his friends and we walked out on him. Think about it, you're supposed to take your friends the way they come. And ours comes packaged as a bumbling idiot. Its better than him scaring all the little ones."

Hermione nodded, placing her head on his shoulder, "But he had no right to say it! He's so arrogant!" She shook her head, "But I miss him. I miss the rambling, crazy fool."

"I know, 'Mione. What can we do? No one has seen him! He's ignoring everyone going to his house. He hasn't left it since we got back. He's done work, but heavens only knows how. His meetings are being done by proxy. It's horrible. I never meant to hurt him that much."

"Yeah, but we didn't say anything. Luna is what hurt him the most. We need to talk to him. We need to talk to both of them."

"Awww, you want to play matchmaker." Draco grinned, kissing her more, "I love that about you." He whispered to her. He looked at her mail briefly, catching sight of the Ball invitation, "Do you think he'll attend?"

Hermione blinked, confused, but then saw what had caught his attention. She grinned, bouncing up suddenly, "You are brilliant! Of course he will! We'll be able to corner him and apologize!" Hermione kissed Draco over and over again, before bouncing up to place a floo call.

Luna kicked a box in her small flat. She was moving soon. The tabloids speculated that she was moving in with Ron, since they had seen him come in with empty boxes and leave with full ones. It was the biggest load of garbage. Ron was just helping her move into her bigger flat. She was tired of tripping over her possessions because there was no place to put them. Logically, moving into a larger place made sense. Since, she wasn't talking with stupid, idiotic Harry Potter, she had to ask Ron and the rest of the Weasley's for help. Most of the others helped with setting up the new flat, getting the furniture placed there as she packed up the old one.

Luna grinned, knowing that the other Weasley's were just afraid of walking into this flat. They had all been at some point or another, and most had tripped and gotten hurt in some fashion. Surprisingly, Ron had managed that yet, despite that it was in worse disarray than when his family had stopped by. But, then again, Ron had traveled over the world. He probably was used to avoiding bad things.

Another swift kick later, and Luna was throwing things haphazardly around the room, screaming. Tears were running down her face. She didn't notice as Ron stopped her from breaking things. She did notice the tug of apparition and that she was at her new flat. She felt someone's arms encircle her, but she didn't quite care.

"What happened, Ron? What did you say to the poor thing?"

"Nothing, mother. She was throwing things around, crying, when I came back." Ron whispered to his mom. Ron understood that Luna periodically got upset over ending her relationship with Harry. From what he could understand, this was only the second time that they had been separate in their relationship – something that had been growing since he had healed after the Final Battle. Though, they hadn't gotten together as a couple until they were thrown back into the past. Ron didn't understand how Harry wouldn't actually talk with Luna and learn her feelings.

Ron watched as his mom steer Luna to the kitchen, making her tea. While his mom calmed Luna down, Ron recruited Bill and Charlie to help him finish packing up Luna's place. He didn't really want to be around them that long, because he was certain that they would ask about Harry. He just wasn't willing to say that he had forgiven his best friend to then walk out on him. His family had taken to pestering him about what had happened, so he had moved out to a flat in London. Granted, that had meant he had had to find a job. Now, that search had been interesting. Ironically, he had ended up working the Ministry in one of the more obscure departments. He was more than happy with that.

"Ron! Are you even listening to us?" Bill said, as he poked his brother.

"What?"

"Ron, what is going on with Harry? He hasn't been around the Ministry and dad said he doesn't answer the door. What happened to him and Luna as well?" Charlie repeated their questions.

"I didn't answer when I lived at home, what makes you think I'll answer now?"

"Because, the Annual whatever the name is Ball is tomorrow and no one knows if the Minister is going to show up. No one knows what to expect. No one knows what happened to the four of them. I've also never known Luna to get torn up over Harry doing anything, so clearly wherever they went, Luna and Harry got close. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but they obviously got into a lover's spat. So, what happened?"

"I'm not allowed to talk about where they went. But, Luna wanted Harry to grow up. She didn't want to be ordered around. She wanted a partner. Harry obviously wasn't giving her that. He's cloistered himself away as a result, not that Luna wants to talk with him until he's demonstrated that he's grown up. No, I don't know if he's going to be there tomorrow. But I would doubt it." Ron bit out, putting Luna's things into boxes with a flick of his wand. He blinked as he saw that his brothers had finished everything.

"Don't understand why this was taking you guys so long." Bill grumbled as he put all the boxes into a big box, using magic to shrink them. Ron shrugged,

"I think she was going through everything. I don't know though." Ron whispered, "Maybe she was hoping someone would show up at her doorstep." Charlie noticed that Ron was upset and decided it was time to move the subject to less troublesome topics.

"Well, are you going to the Ball?" Bill shook his head at his brothers attempt to change the subject.

"Probably. It's recommended that all Ministry employees invited attend. Since I was invited, I should probably go." Bill grinned, ruffling his brother's head.

"Aw, he doesn't want to go. Probably afraid of looking silly." Ron glared,

"Of course not!" Ron went with his brothers back to the flat, looking at Luna who was mechanically unpacking. He set to work on trying to bring her spirits up, not liking Luna without the strangeness that made her sparkle. Right now, she seemed to similar to everyone else.

**This Narrator could bore you with every detail of the next 24 hours. Taking up your precious time with little unnecessary details that have no bearing on the next evening. I could describe the exact meal that Ron Weasley ate for breakfast, how he ate it, and how much time he took to each separate bite. However, that hardly seems fair – now does it? Not when what you are interested in is how the five characters in our tail interact with each other at the Ball that is the talk of everyone. Or were you more interested in how Crazy Harry Potter plans to step down as the Minister of Magic? Well, I suppose if that is what you were looking forward to, you will have your wish in a few brief moments. There is one last event that takes place prior to the Ball that influences heavily on the events there. **

Hermione looked at the other four as they met for lunch. She wasn't sure how to say what she needed to say. She supposed just spitting it out was the best way, "I'm going to corner Harry tonight. I'm going to force him to listen to me apologize. I don't care if you guys don't think he deserves it, but I'm worried for him."

Ron smiled at her, though it was a bit tense. Over the past 23 days, Ron had had to get used to her dating Draco. Hermione had to admit that it was going rather well, considering that the two of them used to be mortal enemies. Draco had helped his case quite a bit, though, by revealing to Ron how he had helped the side of the Light during the Battle. It had taken him years (well, years back at the time of the Founding. Hermione still wasn't sure how she was this age again) to reveal that information to her fully.

"I am as well," Ron spoke softly, "I didn't come back to make up with him and then turn my back on him again. Bad enough I did it the first time."

"Damn straight it is." Hermione snapped him, her eyes blazing with anger at him for that. Draco jumped in, trying to calm down Hermione,

"Mione, don't bite his head off. He acknowledges it was wrong. He wants to make up for it. 'Sides, he's agreed your plan is good. As do I. I am more than willing to corner our errant friend and force apologies into his ear. Sounds like a bad form of torture." Draco rambled a little bit, causing Hermione to smile. Surprisingly Luna did as well.

"He won't want to listen to me, I'm sure. But I'll help." Luna whispered. Ron put a hand on her back, comforting her,

"He will want to listen. He loves you. I'm sure he does." Ron smiled encouragingly. "Guess we'll have to be prepared to run all over the place tonight! Also, we should have a signal if one of us corners him."  
"Well, use a summon charm. Sure you know one Ron." Hermione smiled at him. Ron nodded. "I have to go get ready. Lots of work goes into making me pretty for a ball."

Harry looked at the fantastically decorated and expanded atrium at the Ministry. It was the perfect place to hold a Ball, and whichever committee had been placed in decorating it that year had done wonderfully. He supposed he should write them a letter thanking them for such a good job. But, he'd deal with that after his announcement. Not a moment before.

Naturally, there were hordes of politicians there. Harry fought to keep the scowl off his face, placing his best I'm not here fully look on. Always made people think he was too stupid to know what they were really trying to do. He supposed that they figured his advisors were the ones that got him to not implement their stupid ideas. He possibly couldn't be expected to figure those things out. Oh no, he wasn't smart enough. But they didn't matter anymore.

Harry smiled to himself, wandering aimlessly about the room, taking in everything. He had no real destination in mind, nursing the small cocktail in his hand. Glancing about, he saw Hermione walking towards him. He turned abruptly on his heel, walking to the nearest person that he could have a conversation with. All the while, he did it with a goofy demeanor and drinking the cocktail quickly. One of the servers for the event came around and refilled it for him. Harry murmured his thanks.

"Ah! Cordelia! How fantastic it is for you to make it!" Harry said, with a wide smile on his face. He really didn't mind Cordelia. She was from the North American Free Elf Organization. Fondly, Harry referred to it as Nafeo. Whereas Nafeo did have a political agenda, it was a decent one. It was one Harry could support.

"Oh, Minister! Its so great to see you out and about again!" Cordelia continued talking, but Harry only listened with one ear, drinking his continuously refilled cocktail, managing to maneuver Cordelia away from Hermione by walking into a crowd of people. After about thirty minutes and three cocktails later, Harry managed to extract himself from Cordelia. He wandered around, taking in everything, wishing that there wasn't another two hours before talking time. He wanted to resign now and leave.

With a nod to the server, Harry accepted a slightly stronger cocktail. He had the feeling he was going to need something more powerful. Especially since he saw Draco heading in a beeline to him. Time to initiate another avoidance tactic by talking to another politician. He was a little upset that the only one around him was the Headmaster of the recently opened school for young witches and wizards under the age of ten. Apparently parents wanted to send their little children to school sooner.

"Hello, Stefen. How are you doing? Is the school still running?" Harry forced a wide grin on his face. Stefen wasn't a supporter of Voldemort, but he wasn't a supporter of Harry either. He believed in purity of blood and hated the merging muggle and wizard communities. Harry was pretty certain that the only reason the man showed up to this ball was because it would look bad if he declined.

It took all of Harry's will power to not lose his cool as he listened to Stefen and the people that joined in the discussion. The only good thing about being around Stefen was that Draco had left, not willing to put up with the annoying man. However, it took Harry forty agonizing minutes to extract himself from the clutches of the vile man. Thankfully Harry had had the help of more than a few cocktails to help him suffer through the experience. At the rate he was going though, Harry wasn't too certain that he would be coherent for his resignation speech.

Without a clear path in mind, Harry walked to the fringes of the people, waving politely at people and keeping the bumbling fool grin on his face. Once in the fringes, he relaxed a little, ignoring the people. In fact, he was ignoring people so well that he didn't notice Ron had come up until he talked,

"Hey Harry." Harry jumped at the sound of his voice. He didn't want to talk to Ron. He really didn't. Looking behind Ron, he saw the Minister of Magic for the United States. Sure, the man was insufferable. Sure, he believed he was God's Gift on Earth. But, he was better than listening to Ron outline his faults.

"Sorry, Ron. Love to stay and chat. Really would, but I need to say hello to the Minister from the US before his knickers get into a twist. Sorry, mate, really am." Harry extracted himself from Ron's hold on his sleeve quickly, going over to Dick Powers, bloody man. On the way over, Harry grabbed another drink, indicating to the server to keep them coming.

"Mr. Powers! Glad to see that you could make it to our Ball. I wondered if you would be able to after the Stupify incident." Harry said, plastering the nicest expression he could. He sniggered internally at the mention of the stupify problem. Apparently, the Minister had been out gnome catching. However, he stupified a friend, instead of the gnome that he was trying to get out of his garden. Pictures had been taken and it was plastered in every paper within hours. Harry had been very amused by it.

"No, no. That thing got blown out of proportion. Bill admitted that he had made a mistake. All a big mistake." Powers tried to assure Harry. Harry took a big gulp of his cocktail, appreciating the burn in his throat and that it prevented him from having to respond. He just nodded instead. Thankfully, he was only in the clutches of Mr. Powers for twenty minutes, however, alcohol consumption equalled the one before, whatever his name was. With his brief break before having to escape to Mr. Powers, he was down to about twenty minutes before his speech. Oh boy, was it going to be fun because he was pretty tipsy.

Pretty tipsy. Oh that was a joke. Harry was fairly certain that he was completely toasted. He squinted a little, the person that was blurry coming into focus. Harry turned on his heel, wishing the world would stop spinning as he hurried to find someone new to keep Luna away from him. He really didn't want to deal with Luna. If he hadn't want to deal with the other three, they didn't even equal how much he didn't want to deal with Luna. In fact, it was as though it tripled, or something. Harry wasn't sure anymore. He really just wanted the room to stop spinning. That would be nice.

Instead, he settled for another cocktail and having to talk to the new head of the Bureau of Magical Cooperation. Someone with the name Lacy something or other. He didn't really care. Her voice was very piercing however. Actually, piercing wasn't adequate to define her voice. He looked as someone walked onto the stage. If Harry wasn't mistaken, it looked an awful like Arthur Weasley. He decided he should try to pay attention, instead of drinking more.

"It is with great pleasure that I introduce our Minister of Magic up to have a few words. I have a distinct pleasure in knowing the Minister as he went through school and during some of our darkest times. He is a brilliant man and an even better leader. I give to you Harry Potter!" Arthur said, pointing to Harry. Harry blinked, realizing he was actually in front of the stage. After a moments confusion, he got up on the stage. He squinted at the lights on him. He supposed they were to help others see him. They just made it harder for him to concentrate though.

"Thans fer tha Arthu." Harry said, his words coming out oddly. It was like his tongue didn't want to work. Well, that could pose a few problems in saying his speech. Maybe he should shorten it or something. He blinked hearing people shuffling and murmuring things in the audience. "Prattle! Prattle prattle! Prattling. That's what people say others do. They prattle. Its like an insult, 'cause its prat meets tle. So its like you are saying they are a prattler. . . like a prat. That's annoying. Did you ever think of that? No, you wouldn't. You are slimy politicians with slimier minds. Maybe you should jump in an algea covered river or lake. Become slimier. Slime. Sssssslime. It comes of the tongue so nicely. Very sibilant. Very fun. Slime. What was I doing?" Harry blinked, seeing the lights again. He realized why he was on the stage. He saw Arthur looking around, confused and worried. He thought he saw him motion at someone, but he didn't really care. "I wanted to speak today about something. Trying to remember what it was. Wasn't slimy politicans or whiny people. Oh! Right. Something with a sign. Why a sign? Oh, right. That's it. I'm through. Through with leading complainers and dealing with slimy slimeballs. I'm done. I am going private sector. I resign. I quit. Bye!" Harry grinned brilliantly, waving his wandhand, disappearing.

Four people watched in the audience as their friend drunkenly apparated away after resigning. Only one of them voiced everyone's thoughts. "Uh-oh," Draco murmured as chaos broke out in the audience.


	2. Oh Dear, I Lost My Marbles

AN: I am awful and mean. Cruel. It's almost three years later that I return to this. Well, I promise to finish it...within at least the three years.

**So dawns the next day, the day after the Ball. A time where our – Oh, you guys weren't finished with the Ball yet, were you? I did leave you off without the aftermath, or even saying where our now ex-Minister had gone. Well, this Narrator should inform you of his actions. Well, let us take a look at that evening again!**

"Guys, what just happened?" Ron asked, voice barely above a whisper. Ron was staring where Harry used to be wondering whether they should be concerned about Harry from the standpoint of apparating drunk or because he just resigned from the ministry. Nothing was making sense at the moment, so he wasn't sure which one to take. He supposed they should be worried more about the drunken apparating. Always something that was concern worthy.

"I think that we need to find him." Hermione whispered, "Because that was not the best way to apparate. ." Hermione was very worried. Ron could detect it in her voice. He was not sure how to stop the full-blown Hermione fit that would come out, but was glad when Draco stepped in, removing her to elsewhere temporarily. Ron looked at Luna who was blinking.

"He resigned..." She whispered, "I thought he loved this job." Ron shook his head slightly. It amazed him how no one really had known that Harry had been living a mask. It amazed him even more that they thought he liked working at the ministry.

"Hardly, Luna. Not the right job for him." Ron whispered.

**Now, the Narrator supposes that it would be best to quickly turn to Harry and what happened to him, seeing as the others are lost in the misery of their own thoughts. Have no fear, they will have recovered in due course! They will be snapping to action in enough time for the adventure to start! Oh, but I wasn't supposed to inform you of the impending events. Ah, but I suppose you were smart enough to figure out that something exciting had to happen. Well, let us go to elusive, slippery ex Minister of Magic and see where he ended up. **

Harry laughed with the guy sitting next to him at the Hog's Head. He wasn't sure he knew what was so funny, but he laughed uproariously anyway, since the beer was making everything funnier. Harry was dimly aware of someone helping him stand up, guiding him outside. He answered their question of where he was going by pointing at Hogwarts, however the small motion made him very dizzy. When the person moved him towards the school, Harry leaned over, hoping to make it on the ground, throwing up. After dry-heaving for a bit, he was a bit more lucid. Still drunk off his ass, but the world no longer spun quite so dangerously. He thanked the poor fellow that had helped him outside, walking towards Hogwarts. Well, walking was a bit generous. It was more like he stumbled haphazardly on the path to the school. He knew that McGonagall would be there due to it being the first month of the summer. He stumbled awkwardly up the steps. He looked down, hoping that helped. Instead, he missed the person in front of him, running right into them. His head shot up as a voice spoke to him.

"Mr. Potter! Pay attention to where you are going." The stern Headmistress said, moving to continue onwards, however Harry decided that he had come to Hogwarts to talk with McGonagall. He didn't actually remember why he had come to the school, but it hardly seemed like it mattered.

"Minnie!" Harry flung his arms around her, hugging her. "I love you, Minnie! I go' so much ta tell ya! Didja know that alcohol stops burning after awhile? Just goes right down, tasting good." He was leaning heavily on McGonagall, not having the energy to support himself. He tried to not be semi-insulted as she leaned away after smelling his breath.

"Mr. Potter, how much have you had to drink?"

"9-10 somethings. . . not sure. Guess wha' I did, Minnie! You'll never be able to guess! It was slimy. Slime. Ssssslime." Harry just spun a bit, not really able to keep himself upright. McGonagall grabbed him, not saying anything. Harry didn't really need her to speak though, just wanted to say things himself, "I was so smart. I did somethin' awesome. I quit! I told 'em I resigned! I said, shove it! And then I apparated!" He grinned at her.

McGonagall stared open-mouthed at Harry, "Mr. Potter, do not tell me you apparated drunk. That is insane and dangerous!" Harry just continued grinning as though he was brilliant. McGonagall blinked, having a bit of an inspiration. She was incredibly tired of being the Headmistress. She had been teaching for so long. She was ready to retire. She wanted to have a home on a nice beach somewhere. Or in the hills. She didn't care which. There was one obstacle: Hogwarts. But here, right in her lap, lie the perfect escape. She must, while he was slobbering drunk, get Harry Potter to take over Hogwarts. The question was how to do that. After all, she had just chastised him for apparating drunk. How does one move from that to 'I want you to take over Hogwarts.'

"Minnie! Shouldn' worry so much. Knew I'd make it here. Love here. Here is home. Here was home long time ago." Harry said, hugging her and flopping his head on her shoulder. McGonagall blinked, wondering what to do with a drunk ex-Minister who was treating her like a teddy bear.

"Mr. Potter. Why don't we head to the Gryffindor dormitory. I'll make you up a bed and you can sleep off the alcohol. However, since you insist that you are clear-thinking, I was wondering if I could broach a topic with you of utmost urgency."

"Minnie, of course! Never have to ask. Well, you would have to ask or talk or somethings. I don't know anymore. Whatcha need, Minnie? Do you mind if I call you Mouse?"

"Potter, I do mind. But you won't remember anyway. Let's get back to the common room, and I will tell you what I want to discuss." Stumbling along, McGonagall assisted Harry to the Gryffindor common room. She had to use a few charms along the way to keep Harry from pitching himself over the railings on the moving staircases. McGonagall set Harry up in the common room with a bed and sat down, conjuring some tea. She was going to be very underhanded in how she got Harry to sign the papers making him Headmaster. She looked at him, "Harry, would you like to live in the castle permanently?"

Harry was getting comfortable on the bed, but managed to say, "Yes, Mouse." McGonagall summoned the paper and a quill,

"Well, if you sign right here, you can live in this castle." McGonagall didn't mention that by signing he would have to be Headmaster for at least ten years and that he couldn't try to give the position back to her. She knew it was very devious, but Hogwarts needed Harry Potter. She smiled in triumph as Harry signed his name to the paper and then fell asleep, as if someone had turned off a switch.

Watching Harry sleep, McGonagall wondered how different Harry would be if he had a real childhood. She knew that the composed adult that was shown to the whole of the Wizarding World was not whom Harry really was. She never understood why he built that mask. Clearly, to some in the Ministry, Harry did act like a total buffoon, but not everyone and not at everything. He needed a place where being eccentric was all right. A place where he could be silly and goofy, and the consequences wouldn't be earth shattering. Hogwarts was the place for that. McGonagall knew that in her heart. She just hoped that Harry would forgive her when he discovered what she had done.

Turning the lamps down, McGonagall left the common room, packing her bags. She told the ghosts what had happened and disappeared into the night.

**The Narrator is tempted to take the reader to the morning, when the ex-Minister awakens to a particularly nasty hangover to some rather surprising news. However, the Narrator feels that following the steps of one Ron Weasley as he is hounded by reporters as he tries to leave the party is much more important. The Wizarding World has conveniently decided to forget that a Mr. Ron Weasley was, up until his startling return, missing from the wizarding world for a period of around five or so years. The reader should also keep in mind that they are forgetting about the fact that Mr. Weasley did not remain friends with Harry during the time of his interlude away from the magical community. **

"Mr. Weasley! A moment of your time!" "A quick question!" "Weasley, do you know-" "Did you have any idea" "Mr. Weasley!" "-Time!" Voices clamored for the attention of Ron Weasley as he departed the party. Ron stared into all the flashing light, a dumbfounded look on his face. He was walking to his flat, as opposed to apparating. He liked to walk, especially on the rare nice days. It was eccentric, and apparently getting him into trouble. The doors out of the building went by the public floo network, which of course had tons of reporters around it, hoping to get a scoop on the story of Harry Potter's resignation.

Ron stood in the flash of the bulbs, getting a bit of a head ache. He hadn't had to deal with reporters where he had ultimately ended up for the five years. In fact, Ron was fairly certain that he hated reporters. However, they were clearly not going to let him get away without answering there questions. Putting on a relatively innocuous face, Ron pointed at the shortest female of the lot, who looked like a bouncing rabbit. Ron tried to keep his straight face on as he started imagining her as a bouncy rabbit.

"Mr. Weasley, can you shed any light onto the Minister's decision to resign?" the reporter asked. Ron shook his head,

"No, I'm sorry. I cannot." Without warning, another reporter shouted a question,

"Are you saying that Mr. Potter did not consult with anyone when making his decision?"

Ron looked at the male reporter with a raised eyebrow. He was trying to formulate a good response and saw an opportunity, "Did you realize that you have lipstick on your chin?" The reporter glared, moving off to take care of it, "I have to go. Excuse me." He tried to leave, but was pushed back by the reporters. Ron started to tense, wanting to get out and go home to relax before chasing after Harry.

"Mr. Weasley, is your relationship with Mr. Potter strained due to your long absence?"

Ron closed his eyes to calm himself and then opened them again, "First off, it is none of your business the state of my relationship with Harry. Second, I suggest you move out of my way, and let me continue on my way home. Do you understand?" Ron pushed his way through them heading off to walking home. He looked up when he noticed someone walking with him,

"Name's Bryce. What do you say about a job, Mr. Weasley?" Ron looked at the editor-in-chief of Witch Weekly, unbelieving.

**The Narrator feels that it might be cruel for some of the readers to leave Ron as he gapes like a fish, however the story must move to the next morning as Harry wakes up with a devil of a hangover. Don't despair. Ron's decision will become apparent later on. However, that decision isn't important at this moment. **

Harry groaned, feeling the light pounding against his face. He did not want to wake up and face this monster of headache. He decided he did in fact need to wake up, but he was going to recount what happened the previous evening. For instance, where the hell was he? How did he get here? And what did he do at that party? He had a rather sneaking suspicion that it was not good.

Scratch that. He knew it wasn't good. He ran through his memory. He remembered that he had been avoiding his friends. Well, whether or not they were his friends was debatable. The next few hours of the party, he remembered talking to diplomats. He couldn't remember if he had to speak or not. He thought he was...

Harry's head suddenly filled with the words of what he had said in his speech. Well, he now knew how he had gotten to wherever he was at. If he took a guess, he would be willing to bet that here was Hogwarts. To figure out for sure if he was, he supposed that he would have to actually open his eyes and look around. Did he mention how much he did not want to see the world? Well, not the world, but the light in the world.

Cracking open his eyes, Harry grunted and rolled over. Now that he thought about, moving would probably be a good thing because his bladder was definitely not happy. With a groan, Harry sat up. "Woah...the world is spinning. Spinning world. I don't like a spinning world. Never drinking that much alcohol in that short of time again. Never again. Bad idea." Harry sat on the edge of the bed, trying to stop the world from rolling around him. The very idea of moving was probably not the smartest thing.

In a fit of intelligence, Harry realized that the world would probably stop moving and being so disconcerting if he put his glasses on. After all, a blurry spinning world was worse than an in focus, spinning world. Or at least, that's the theory? Fumbling around, Harry cursed as he knocked things over. Thankfully, he managed to grab his glasses and place them on his face. "That's it. No more alcohol at excessive quantities on an empty stomach. Actually, the empty stomach bit is most important. And, I think there's a ghost in my room." Harry stared at Nearly Headless Nick, trying to figure out which ghost was in front of him. His memory was a bit slow this morning.

"Harry! So fantastic to see you, old chap! How are you feeling this morning?"

"Like my innards are my outtards."

"Well, that doesn't sound very pleasant. It's a pleasure to see you assuming a new role, Headmaster."

"I'm glad to be taking on-" Harry paused, Nick's words sinking in. He stared for a few minutes, rather blankly at Nick's transparent form. After a few minutes of silence and rapid blinking, Harry managed to find his voice, "Headmaster? What? I'm not Headmaster. McGonagall is Headmistress! I'm not anything at Hogwarts! Why would you say that!" Harry was flipping out, forgetting his migraine in his panic.

"Oh...I take it you haven't read McGonagall's note. Well, I'll let you do that. Talk with you later, Harry!" Nick disappeared, heading off to the other ghosts. Harry stared where he was for a bit before finally going to the washroom. He cleaned up a bit, coming back down. He saw a note, scrawled with his name on it. Opening the parchment, Harry dismally read the letter from McGonagall. He should not be allowed around conniving witches when totally trashed. Or rather, he should be around himself when totally trashed.

_Dear Mr. Potter, _

_I am sorry for my rather sudden departure, but there was a retirement villa with my name on it. The office is cleared and ready for you to move in. Feel free to keep your house outside of the school, if that is what you so desire. I after all, would not like to say that you will never leave the castle again. Enclosed is the contract that you signed last night. I hope to see you again within a few years! _

_I have already sent out the letters for the coming school year, so have no worries! Enjoy your last few months of freedom!_

_Minerva McGonagall. _

With trepidation, Harry pulled out the contract, scanning it for salient details. His eyes widened at the portion that told him he couldn't try to force the position back on McGonagall. After all, that was going to be his first thing to do. Harry threw the parchment down, upset. He couldn't believe that McGonagall would take advantage of a drunk man. She didn't know that he would outright refuse to become Headmaster. Had she given him a year to go all over the world, he might have said yes. But he wanted time to travel. He didn't want any burdens, any troubles!

It wasn't to say that Harry didn't like Hogwarts. Clearly he did! He loved it. Harry loved his time spent as Godric Gryffindor. However, as Godric, he was able to be someone else! He was able to not hide behind his hero masque.

Well, he had to deal with this mess. So, first things first: brew something to help with the hangover. Second, get out of Hogwarts. The sooner, the better.

Gazing out over the lawn, Harry turned his thoughts inward. He reached deep within himself, feeling a wrenching feeling as he disappeared from the lawn, without a glance back at Hogwarts. He didn't give a thought to what would happen to the school without their Headmaster. He didn't care. Pulling on the ropes of time, Harry catapulted himself back to the time he swore to always avoid – the Wizarding Wars.

Harry saw no choice. He knew that Snape would have figured out how to get the potion working. He also now understood a little of what Snape had said to him all those years ago. Snape was trying to make him realize that he had answers. Well, he needed the answers on the potion.

Harry would not stay where he was. It was time for a vacation.

The acidic, putrid smell of panic assaulted Harry the instant he landed back in the passed. He desperately tried to focus on something else, but the destruction was too great for him to ignore. He closed his mind against the memories attacking him, but he knew that fragments would seep through. The scent was too overwhelming for him to push everything back completely.

He hurried quickly to the back of the house, knocking on the door. The door opened a crack, as though the house recognized who he was. Harry walked in confidently, knowing that he couldn't show his want to run. Snape would probably throw him out – thinking that he had finally cracked. Harry just drew himself together to project the image that he was the same confident and ready warrior that he had been prior to the Last Battle. He carefully thought over what he would say to convince Snape that he had found out about the potion normally.

"Potter. What brings you to my humble abode? And why would you be so foolish as to come here, knowing He has eyes everywhere?" Snape stepped out of the shadows, from the direction his hidden staircase was. Harry tried not to smile, since he knew where it was there.

"Come now, do you think I would be foolish enough to be followed? I came for answers. I am intrigued by a potion that Hermione started to jot down, that you took from her. I want the completed potion." Harry said, arrogantly, dredging up everything he had in him to appear cocky. It was hard to be that person again. He understood why Dumbledore always seemed a few marbles short of a full set. Sometimes, a person did things that they had to do, but afterwards, the action seems harsh, cruel. It is hard to wrap the mind around. Harry understood that now.

Well, at least Harry had the satisfaction of stunning Snape into complete silence. If the gaping mouth and wide eyes were any indication of what was going through Snape's mind at the moment. At least Harry knew that Snape knew what he was talking about.

**The story, alas, must return to our intrepid quadrupelet who, after a night's rest, has decided to reconvene and decide what to do about the missing ex-Minister. Though, they do not yet know that he is missing. Well, at least missing from the time that they thought he was in. **

Ron stretched languidly out on the couch in Draco's finely furnished apartment. He had gotten used to the idea of a Draco that had money, but preferred things smaller. He looked at the people in the room, noting the discouraged face of Luna Lovegood, the worried face of Hermione Granger, and the slightly perturbed face of Draco Malfoy. Ron had to agree with the look on Draco's face. The stunt that Harry had pulled last night was abominable, and it had taken away their opportunity to apologize to him, trying to mend the rift.

"We should go find him," Hermione whispered from her chair. She had barely finished speaking when Luna shook her head,

"He went to Hogwarts. Minerva owled me. She got him to agree to be Headmaster..." Luna whispered, "We should just go to Hogwarts..."

Draco blinked at Luna, his face turning to true annoyance, "You knew where he was at. And you didn't say anything!" Luna shrugged. Draco shook his head, sighing in frustration. The four of them lapsed into silence before Ron stood up, stretching. He walked to the Floo Network, pulling out some powder.

"The floo to the head office should be open. Let's go." Ron stepped through, arriving at Hogwarts. Nick arrived afterwards, shaking his head. The four all knew that whatever came next would not be good.

"You missed Harry. I believe he traveled back in time...Not sure where though! Cheerio!" Nick disappeared, heading back down to the other ghosts. The four exchanged looks, each one thinking of where Harry could have gone and why. Each one wondering what this meant. Each one – well, maybe Draco wasn't thinking this much. He instead saw the letter that was thrown onto the desk and recalled the drunken mess that Harry spewed the evening before.

"If you were someone who had had no chance to have a childhood, had no chance to travel, and had a lot of burdens, but also knew that if you traveled in the time you were at, people would look for you – what would you do?" Draco asked the others. Hermione was the first to answer and voice what all were thinking.

"Travel in time."


End file.
